January 22, 2012 Row80 check in

22012012

From a Row80 perspective, this week was a total failure, except for one thing: I walked every single day, between twenty and forty-five minutes. I had a houseguest who will be staying with me several more times in the next few months. She is a dear friend, and we had a blast: cooking, chatting, walking the dog… think ‘pajama party’. Big fun.

I’ve also been dealing with some health issues, and had no energy to do anything that wasn’t required. So writing went right out the window. So did Dvorak, Twitter, Facebook, you name it, I didn’t do it. I didn’t even make the mid-week Row80 check in! I worked, had fun with my friend, and slept.

I’m absolutely fine with the above, because I realized that if I don’t simplify, I’m not going to see my fifty-fifth birthday. My life resembles the variety show act where the guy has fifteen plates spinning in the air. You just know that they are going to come crashing down… but then they don’t, because the guy knows how to keep them spinning. Or they do, and you get a sheepish smile from him.

Though I don’t know what to release from my life just now, I did learn a thing or two during the week.

1. Stretching + relaxing on the floor, flat on my back with knees bent, feet on floor + deep breathing can completely change my mood, and remove any vestige of anxiety that I might be feeling.

2. Even if I don’t manage to accomplish a lot, getting started on tasks that have to be done (think ‘work on finances’) also completely changes my mood, for the better.

3. There is nothing funnier than my dog when she’s begging. I taught her that she has to be sitting in order to get a treat, so when she begs she walks up to you and then plants her behind on the floor, looking up hopefully. And if you don’t respond, she’ll take a couple of steps and plant that butt again, as though to say, “Hey! I’m SITTING!!! Gimme a treat!”

4. Even though I’m a nervous wreck before a concert, nothing is more fun than Beethoven.

Actions

Information

6 responses

Glad to see that you’re accepting you’re failures and learning to simplify. Everyone always thinks that the MORE you do, the better off you’ll be. Sometimes that just isn’t true. I LOVE the story about your dog. At work there are about a bajillion pets (okay, not a bajillion, more like…18) and each and every one of them improves my mood. Don’t know what I would do without them.

I totally understand health issues. You are preaching to the choir. And when your energy is low, you need to be careful and take care of yourself first. Recharge, enjoy your visit with your friend and when your energy springs back, you’ll be ready to hit the keys!

ROW80 is here to teach us many things about setting goals, and it sounds like you are learning some important aspects of realistic and attainable goals. Best of luck with the upcoming week. As you can see, I’m way behind on checking in on people’s updates, but I’m finally visiting! 😉

And if you’ve looked further, you see that I’m out for this round! I’m going to have to check out your blog, it sounds like what I’m dealing with this winter (and every winter, even though I live in South Texas!)